Photo by Jennifer CuringtonRobert B. Rowling, middle, and University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers, second from right, are joined in the ceremonial ground breaking of Rowling hall on Nov. 7.
Dirt has been turning around the future location of Robert B. Rowling Hall for weeks, but University of Texas representatives officially broke ground Nov. 7.
University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers was joined by Rowling and McCombs School of Business Dean Thomas Gilligan to ceremonially turn dirt at the site, where business graduate students will take classes once the building is complete in early 2017.
The 458,000-square-foot facility cost $172 million, of which Rowling and his family contributed $25 million. It will be located at the corner of Guadalupe St. and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
"This is an opportunity for me to give back," Rowling said. "So why are we doing this? There's really one goal: to make this business school the best in the country."
Current UT business graduate students share a building with business undergraduate students. The new facility will give them a separate home.
However, the construction means the demolition of restaurant and sports bar Players—a longtime staple in Austin. Players' last day of operation before it is torn down will be Nov. 28. The Schlotzsky's on Guadalupe St. will also be demolished in the construction process.
